The U.S. government has decided to delay the execution of the only woman on federal death row.

Lisa Montgomery was a convicted murderer, and the Department of Justice rescheduled to execute her on Jan. 12, said a report from Reuters.

According to TIME, Montgomery, 52, is the first woman to be executed by the federal government in 67 years. She was the only female inmate on federal death row since 2008 after she was found guilty of kidnapping resulting in death.

Montgomery's new execution date will be just days before the next president's inauguration on Jan. 20.

Despite President Donald Trump's refusal to concede the election, Democrat Joe Biden, who opposes the death penalty, might be declared the winner.

Advocates Plea for Life Sentence Instead

Montgomery's execution, which was initially set for December 8, was first announced by a Washington-based federal judge on October 16.

Since then, over a thousand advocates have signed letters asking the president to change Montgomery's sentence to life without parole.

They argued that Montgomery had been diagnosed with serious mental illnesses stemming from a history of abuse. Advocates believed that these factors should be extricable from Montgomery's crime.

Montgomery made several attempts to appeal her case, but they were all rejected. The only legal choice left for her was clemency, wherein a governor, president, or administrative board uses their executive power to reduce a person's sentence.

"Readers often confuse clemency with pardon in death penalty cases," said clinical professor of law Sandra Babcock.

She noted that the "extremity of the horrors" the inmate suffered from her early childhood is difficult to grasp.

Montgomery was raped by her own stepfather and handed off to his friends for their use. She was also sold to adult men by her own mother, experiencing relentless sexual abuse and neglect.

"No one intervened to help Lisa, though many knew what was happening to her," Babcock said in a statement.

Babcock has been working to delay Montgomery's execution to file for clemency, saying they are not asking to be absolved of all guilt. But instead, they are looking for mercy.

Lawyers Tested Positive for Coronavirus

The execution was delayed because Montgomery's lawyers tested positive for COVID-19 after visiting her in jail, said a report from Associated Press.

The postponement was meant to allow the lawyers to recover from the virus and file for clemency on her behalf. Montgomery has two attorneys, Kelley Henry and Amy Harwell.

They said in court papers that each roundtrip visit to the Nashville, Tennessee prison involved two flights, hotel stays, and interaction with numerous staff. They also had to interact with prison workers.

Two other federal inmates may be joining Montgomery on the week of her new execution date. Cory Johnson and Dustin Higgs were scheduled to be executed on Jan. 14 and 15.

If her December execution would have pushed through, Montgomery would also be executed with two other inmates.

After a 17-year hiatus, the Justice Department resumed federal executions this year. Since July, eight people have already gone down the death row. This number already beat executions in the previous 50 years.

Montgomery was accused of killing Bobbie Jo Stinnett in Dec. 2004. She allegedly used a rope to strangle Stinnett, who was eight months pregnant, then cut the baby girl from her womb with a kitchen knife. The suspect took the child with her and attempted to pass her off as her own.